Some of you may remember I'm scheduled for a lumbar spine de-tethering surgery on May 24 at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH. I had my pre-op appointment this past Monday.

At the appt., they went over my medical history and checked me out physically for 1 and 1/2 hours. Next, they did an EKG on my heart. Then there was bloodwork. I also asked about my May 8 MRI results.

The areas of concern they found were: dangerously high blood pressure at 182/113, for which they prescribed Metoprolol, a beta blocker; and the MRIs showed that the syrinx has almost completely obliterated my lumbrosacral spine (at least from the viewpoint of the MRI), and that is why I cannot walk without assistance and my bladder doesn't work. They also said they saw an "osteophyte" (bone-spur) on my cervical spine, about C5-C6, and this may be why my hands go numb when I raise my arms (causes pulling on my neck nerves). They couldn't explain why I have sharp pains in my mid-thoracic spine, though that is where the deepest curve in my scoliosis is. They said my syrinx didn't lengthen in the last year (still goes from T2 to conus), but it looks much worse (has widened considerably) in the lumbar area, as I stated above.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the surgery will help alleviate some pain and perhaps bring back some kind of motor skills.

Thanks for listening...and caring.

Barb

Last edited by hartagold23 on Thu May 17, 2007 11:28 am, edited 2 times in total.

SM/TCS/SB-lipoma/B12 def/Scoliosis/IBS. Had TCS surgery May 24 '07-syrinx totally drained! CSF leak repair--July 16 '07. Currently using a walker for short distances, probably permanently. Surgery was worth it to kill most of the pain!

Barb, Oh I sure hope we get a report that you are doing much, much better and back walking after the detethering! You must feel so validated by the MRI reports, as they show you have very good reasons for your disability and symptoms. I pray things will work out well for you.